Aragorn’s father, Arathorn II, doesn’t appear in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, but his death holds a key connection to the Fellowship of the Ring. Though he’s not even mentioned but obliquely in the movies, his legacy has shaped Aragorn. However, his death also shaped his son as much as his life.

Arathorn was a chieftain of the Dúnedain, the race of men gifted with long life and wisdom, and a direct descendant of Isildur himself. He became a Chieftain following the death of his own father, Arador, and shortly afterward his wife Gilraen bore a son–Aragorn. Aragorn was fated to never know his father, but Arathorn’s death represented a key step on Aragorn’s journey from a mere Dúnedain from the North to King Aragorn Elessar, as seen in The Lord of the Rings films.

How & When Aragorn’s Father, Arathorn, Died In Lord Of The Rings

Arathorn lost his father to hill-trolls in the year 2930 of the Third Age of Middle Earth, paving the way for his own ascension as a Chieftain of the Dúnedain. Just a year later his son, Aragorn, was born. Aragorn never had the opportunity to know his father, as Arathorn was forced to leave his wife and son to lead his people. Unfortunately, he would not return to them: in the year 2933 he was shot through the eye while out hunting orcs, and died instantly. These events preceded the events seen in The Lord of the Rings by several decades.

At the time of his death, Arathorn was being accompanied by Elladan and Elrohir, the twin sons of Lord of the Rings‘ Elrond and older brothers of Arwen Undómiel. Immediately after Arathorn’s death, the two brothers protected and guided Arathorn’s wife and son to Rivendell, where they would adopt a shroud of anonymity under the protection of the elves. Fearing that her son Aragorn would be killed like his father and grandfather, Gilraen chose to hide Aragorn’s own true identity from him and hopefully all others. It was at this time that Elrond essentially adopted Aragorn as his foster son, and helped raise him during his formative years.

How Arathorn’s Death Connects To The Fellowship

While they are never seen in The Lord of the Rings film adaptations, both Elladan and Elrohir play a pivotal role in Aragorn’s eventual ascension to the throne of Gondor and the Fellowship’s crusade to destroy the One Ring. By whisking Aragorn away to Rivendell upon his father’s death, they ensured his survival and growth into the warrior that he would become. Arathorn’s gruesome death spurred his wife’s paranoia about Aragorn suffering a similar fate, and the elf brothers being present at his death allowed her to quickly follow through on protecting him.

The brothers’ connection to Aragorn and the Fellowship extends through the entire War of the Ring, although they never appear on the silver screen. The two brothers acted as terrain scouts for the Fellowship as they set out from Rivendell, and later accompanied Aragorn through the Paths of the Dead. They even fight at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields and march on the Black Gate with Aragorn. Their connection with Aragorn, and ultimately the Fellowship of the Ring, begins with the death of Aragorn’s father, Arathorn. While neither Arathorn nor the brothers Elladan and Elrohir appear in The Lord of the Rings movies, the death of Aragorn’s father, decades before the Fellowship comes into existence, puts Aragorn on the path to the Throne of Gondor and the destruction of the One Ring.